Thursday, March 24, 2011

Blessings From a Bad Experience

Have you ever tried to do something good, and as you do something just totally bad happens? Well, I had just that happen to me yesterday. I had just finished in the bathroom, and after washing my hands and looking around, I had noticed there was a lot of trash all over the floor. I reasoned it would take me about thirty seconds maximum to clean it all up, and I would be able to do a great service for everyone else who used it. It worked great except for the fact that I like to keep the little white handbook for missionaries in my shirt pocket. So, as I was trying to reach and grab the trash which was right next to the toilet . . . plop. A chill shot through my back from hearing a little splash in the water.

I try and do something good, and it almost seems like I get punished. All of us here on earth have been given the ability to choose. We can choose good or we can choose evil. God wants us to use our ability of choice for good. It almost seems ironic sometimes when I choose to do good things and then bad things seem to come from it. It made me think about how from God’s perspective it might also seem that many of the things He has chosen to do have worked against Him. But a closer look helps us to see how He has used those things for good. We know one of the choices God has made is to give us our agency.

In Moses 7, we are able to read a little from God’s perspective on this agency He has given us.

27 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

28 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

But even with us going against what God has for us, we find He has created a way to help us overcome that.

39 And That which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;

Jesus Christ is what makes the plan of God perfect. As we choose and make mistakes, He is the one who is able to help redeem us from those. And, as we read in 2 Nephi 2:

26 And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.”

God is our great and loving Father in Heaven. He tells us, “I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.” (Abraham 2: 8) He knows what the final outcome is for us. Sometimes it seems that everything is going wrong and against us or that all the right choices are bringing bad consequences, but we can’t see the end from the beginning. I know as we rely on God in all we do that we can know of a surety that it will be a blessing for us. As He sees the end, He is able to have all things work out for our benefit even though it may be difficult.

“And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8: 28)

And now, as I look at it a little more, I see that dropping the white handbook in the toilet was a blessing. It gave me a great way to start this blog post!